SHENGYU SHANG / DAILY NEXUS
A few weeks ago, I joined millions who gathered across the country to protest the Trump administration and its constant violation of the constitution. Despite record turnout, the Santa Barbara “No Kings” rally showed me that Democratic Party is still making the same mistakes.
45th and 47th President Donald Trump made inroads with nearly every demographic group and won all seven swing states. The resounding defeat shows that the problems faced by Democrats are deeper than one candidate or election cycle. A Democratic Party with a chance of winning has to face its errors and take responsibility for its failures. I arrived early to Alameda Park on Oct. 18, the day of the most recent “No Kings” protest, with my former journalism professor, hoping to see that happen.
Since Kamala Harris’ loss, I have been upset at the Democrats for their refusal to stand for something. President Trump lied when he said he would lower prices and end wars. Since taking office, he has attacked Iran, Yemen and small boats near Venezuela. His tariff regime is raising prices across the board while disrupting long established supply chains. He has also participated in brazen cryptocurrency schemes through World Liberty Financial, a finance platform run by his family and allies. Still, he offered something to believe in — compared with Harris, who promised to be more of the same.
At the rally, a little past noon, Congressman Salud Carbajal spoke. He loudly condemned “kings, authoritarians, dictators and fascists,” with little else to say. This alone began to deflate my sense of hope in the Democrats. Condemnations alone can not build a political movement and Carbajal did not show himself or his party as a strong alternative.
Assemblyman Gregg Hart followed. He devoted the first minute or so of his speech to State Senator Monique Limón before aiming more criticism at Washington D.C. He criticized their gridlock while working people are being “squeezed.” Then, he lauded California’s ability to uplift its citizens without the federal government.
I liked that Hart mentioned working people and their struggles, but acknowledging a problem isn’t the same as offering a solution. In their lack of vision and commitments to new policy goals, Hart and Carbajal both echo the empty speaking style of Harris, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer. Like these figures, Carbajal and Hart engage with voters as if it’s still 2002. They use lots of words and conventional political phrases to say little to nothing at all. They “stand with working people” and “fight for healthcare” while never saying exactly what that means.
The Democratic establishment has struggled to adjust to the new decentralized media environment and its effects on politics. They question voters’ changing concerns rather than their own inflexible leadership.
The Uncommitted National Movement urged former President Joe Biden to stop Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza — they were ignored and campuses were raided to silence them further. Pro-Palestine demonstrations constantly disrupted Harris’ rallies and speeches; they were ignored as well.
Polling on consumer confidence showed the deep anxiety about high prices, but these concerns were dismissed as a “vibecession” that would fade with time. Any fast food worker, student, teacher, Uber driver, Amazon worker or cashier in the country would have confirmed that the high prices were real, affecting every part of their lives.
The Harris campaign hardly attempted to address these issues and millions of voters chose to stay home or vote for Trump as a result. Even with this sweeping loss, Democrats have failed to reckon with their own poor leadership and the need for a new vision.
Instead of building a political platform that meets voters’ needs, party leaders look for communities to abandon in the never-ending pursuit of white suburban moderates. New York Times Columnist Ezra Klein, who is very influential in Democratic circles, suggested as recently as Nov. 2 that Democrats should compromise on issues like abortion and immigration in order to win in predominantly red states. While his view comes from a sincere place, it is typical of Democratic leaders to shed policies that they believe cost support instead of adopting positions that gain support.
Ultimately, Democrats lost the last election because of this incompetent strategy. As Trump has shown twice now, voters are choosing someone who is strong and wrong over the Democrats and their weak, meek approach. Trump has a movement of passionate supporters, whereas Democrats want to fight back with memes and a Joe Rogan of their own.
Politics is about distributing resources, not distributing likes and comments. I wanted to hear Democrats talk about what type of society we could build together. I wanted to know how we could make sure everyone has healthcare, how we could fix our corrupt campaign system, or really anything of substance. Little was on display at the rally.
The tragedy of the “No Kings” rallies is the ineptitude at the top of the Democratic Party. Even with millions of people in the street, they don’t offer a new message for voters to believe in. Without serious reflection about what Democrats are willing to offer and deliver for their base, they will continue to lose and with them, all of the vulnerable people targeted by right wing politics.
Reemo Hooper believes that if Democrats want to ever win another election, they must do more than oppose Trump.
